This groundbreaking collection explores the important ways Jesuits have employed rhetoric, the ancient art of persuasion and the current art of communications, from the sixteenth century to the present. Much of the history of how Jesuit traditions contributed to the development of rhetorical theory and pedagogy has been lost, effaced, or dispersed. As a result, those interested in Jesuit education and higher education in the United States, as well as scholars and teachers of rhetoric, are often unaware of this living 450-year-old tradition. Written by highly regarded scholars of rhetoric, composition, education, philosophy, and history, many based at Jesuit colleges and universities, the essays in this volume explore the tradition of Jesuit rhetorical education-that is, constructing "a more usable past" and a viable future for eloquentia perfecta, the Jesuits' chief aim for the liberal arts. Intended to foster eloquence across the curriculum and into the world beyond, Jesuit rhetoric integrates intellectual rigor, broad knowledge, civic action, and spiritual discernment as the chief goals of the educational experience. Consummate scholars and rhetors, the early Jesuits employed all the intellectual and language arts as "contemplatives in action," preaching and undertaking missionary, educational, and charitable works in the world. The study, pedagogy, and practice of classical grammar and rhetoric, adapted to Christian humanism, naturally provided a central focus of this powerful educational system as part of the Jesuit commitment to the Ministries of the Word. This book traces the development of Jesuit rhetoric in Renaissance Europe, follows its expansion to the United States, and documents its reemergence on campuses and in scholarly discussions across America in the twenty-first century. Traditions of Eloquence provides a wellspring of insight into the past, present, and future of Jesuit rhetorical traditions. In a period of ongoing reformulations and applications of Jesuit educational mission and identity, this collection of compelling essays helps provide historical context, a sense of continuity in current practice, and a platform for creating future curricula and pedagogy. Moreover it is a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding a core aspect of the Jesuit educational heritage.

Originally published in 1904, this concise volume presents the content of a lecture delivered at King's College Women's Department during October 1904. The text focuses on the relationship between general learning and biblical instruction, putting forward reasons for bringing the two together in order to encourage 'the full satisfaction of both the intellectual and the spiritual needs of man'. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in religious education, biblical studies and pedagogical history.

The author presents a close reading of Martin Luther's lectures on Galatians (1531) and Genesis (1535-1545). It reveals that Luther employed his unique understanding of Law and Gospel to inculcate in his students the understanding and desire to faithfully live out their callings in the vocations to which God had appointed them. He provided resources to do the same in the parishes they were to serve. Though in recent years the field of Luther studies has begun to appreciate the invaluable pastoral insights of this experienced master of pastors, the research has focused primarily on Luther's early works. Moreover, little attention has been given to exploring Luther's message as he cultivated an upcoming generation of pastors in his classroom. This work seeks to address this lacuna.

Through the last century, Catholic fraternity alumni have served as German chancellors, presidents, federal ministers, state executives, and leading voices in Germany's parliament. They have played leading roles in the Catholic press, in Catholic youth groups, in Catholic civic associations, and in the German Catholic hierarchy. After World War II, Catholic fraternity alumni played founding roles in the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), the two parties that led West Germany's transition from its catastrophic defeat ("zero hour") to the economic miracle (1949-1969). This book considers the ideas that many of these Catholic leaders encountered as college students or as active alumni in their fraternities in the fifteen years before Adolf Hitler came to power.

While courses in Bible and theology typically require research papers, particularly at the graduate level, very few include training in research. Professors have two options: use valuable class time to teach students as much as they can, or lower their standards with the understanding that students cannot be expected to complete tasks for which they have never been prepared. From Topic to Thesis: A Guide to Theological Research offers a third option. This affordable and accessible tool walks students through the process, focusing on five steps: finding direction, gathering sources, understanding issues, entering discussion and establishing a position. Its goal is to take students directly from a research assignment to a research argument-in other words, from topic to thesis.

The study discusses the Old Testament's parable of Nathan and the subsequent condemnation of King David. The intriguing episode of the Prophet Nathan pronouncing judgment on the erring King David has always attracted the interest of the exegete and various researchers have used different methods to separate the condemnation of King David from the ancient author. This study presents a synchronic reading of the canonical text that reveals the episode as the mirror image of the oracle of eternal dynasty pronounced to David by the same prophet in the Second Book of Samuel 7. It is indeed the work of the deuteronomistic writer who has adapted an oracle against the dynasty of David and trimmed it to the advantage of his hero in the unfolding of history.

The research and reflections in The Fourth Self come from the author's almost thirty years of interaction in mission endeavors, primarily in Kenya, starting with an evangelism and church planting emphasis, to maturing young churches, and then various methods of leadership development. Much of what the author has learned on his pilgrimage in search of the fourth self, he owes to his Kenyan brothers and sisters with whom he has shared this journey. The Fourth Self will assist the reader in sharing in this journey more fully. Given the influence of the Western theological heritage in East Africa, it is important that the value of the theological education be evaluated from the perception of the participants in the educational process. This intercultural pilgrimage has been in the making for many decades, and it has been a journey for both African and Western participants as they both learned from and taught one another. This volume articulates the voices of the participants in a theological process while engaging their cultural contexts with the gospel, searching for what Paul Hiebert calls the "fourth self", self-theologizing. Furthermore, it evaluates which factors in the theological education process and ministry experiences contributed significantly to the leaders developing their own theological understanding of scripture as it applies to their cultural and ministry contexts, that is, practicing the fourth self. Professors, especially cross-cultural theological educators, will find this text to be useful in delving into the always dynamic cauldron of contexualization, self-theologizing, and global theologizing. In addition, this volume sets a solid foundation for improvements in ministry, theological interchange, and theological education in Africa.

Through history, Islam was the dominant religion and source of legitimation for ruling entities in diverse contexts where cultures and religions thrived in harmony. Today, the presence of Muslims as citizens in secular societies poses challenges, either by belonging to minorities in Western countries with long secular traditions or by comprising minority or majority populations in post-communist East European and Central Asian societies, where secular values are being revised. As Muslims reconceive the role of religion in their lives in those contexts, Islamic education acquires importance. It assists the young, especially adolescents, in learning to identify more fully with local realities with the intention of building sense of inner connectedness through which they may truly take part in and be of service to society. The contributors to this volume explore how the religious and secular, as well as the traditional and modern intersect in Islamic educational institutions that benefit Muslims and their societies by averting extremism and promoting cohesion.

There is a great deal of popular belief in the connection between religious extremism and terrorism. There are also numerous statistical analyses that reject that connection. Upon a deeper analysis, however, both of these approaches are oversimplifications. To adequately answer the question of whether there is a significant causal relationship between organizational religions and terrorism, it is necessary to take a closer and more critical look at the ideologies and practices of both religious practitioners and terrorists. It is important to focus on the causality of the relationship, because, if there is no causal relationship between religion and terrorism, then removing adherence to religion will do nothing to ameliorate the problem of terrorism. The Root of All Evil? Religious Perspectives on Terrorism conducts this kind of analysis.

Maritain, Religion, and Education: A Theocentric Humanism Approach offers a comprehensive study of Jacques Maritain's philosophy of education as applied to the specific field of religious education. This book demonstrates that his philosophy is still relevant and that the philosophical-religious idea of the human person is an indispensable point of departure for any educational theory, particularly in the field of religious education. Maritain's theocentric humanism stresses not only the relation of God and humanity but that of humanity and the world. His thinking fosters unity - by considering the human person as unity - with religious education becoming a liberating process that conforms to the goal of religious education: to deliver persons from all obstacles to union with God by fostering the spiritual life of religious educators and society alike.

Story and Song: A Postcolonial Interplay between Christian Education and Worship examines the roles of Scripture and hymnody in a Christian community in the twenty-first century, an era marked by a growing awareness of complex issues and migrating contexts. This work identifies the divisions that have existed between these two disciplines. The postcolonial approach employed here offers insights that uncover the colonial assumptions that led to division rather than integration of worship and Christian education. Furthermore, this book seeks to employ qualitative research methods in studying a Korean-Canadian diasporic congregation and a Korean feminist Christian group. Such research demonstrates how the Gospel Story and the congregation's stories can be woven together in a particular context, while the Song of Faith can help to build a postcolonial feminist community. Readers will be equipped to mend the divisions between Christian education and worship, to respond to the needs of non-Western Christian communities, and to attain postcolonial insights. A balanced theoretical work with reflective practical descriptions, this volume will be useful to those who are looking for a text to guide Christian education and worship courses and contribute to the readings of courses in practical theology, postcolonial studies, feminist pedagogies, and feminist liturgies.

Lutheran colleges and universities occupy a distinctive space in American higher education. In an age where the dividing line between sacred and secular has become blurred, Brian Beckstrom argues that their "rooted and open" approach, combined with adaptive theological leadership, could be the best hope for faith based higher education. To do so, he provides an overview of Lutheran higher education, its history, and identity, and combines surveys of students, faculty, and staff at Lutheran institutions with leadership theory and theological reflection. Leaders at Lutheran colleges and universities will find it to be helpful in understanding their mission, identity, and vocation in a secular age, and navigating the changing cultural environment that challenges the church and higher education alike.

Six leading scholars--representing Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and secular perspectives--formulate their variant models of an ideal Jewish education for the contemporary world. This book addresses the multiple challenges of the open society to Jewish continuity by considering different versions of Jewish education appropriate for our time. It emphasizes the continuity of theory and practice, translating theory into practice as well as articulating theory embodied in practice. The book shows how all religious and ethnic communities might deepen the impact of their educational programs.

Six leading scholars--representing Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and secular perspectives--formulate their variant models of an ideal Jewish education for the contemporary world. This book addresses the multiple challenges of the open society to Jewish continuity by considering different versions of Jewish education appropriate for our time. It emphasizes the continuity of theory and practice, translating theory into practice as well as articulating theory embodied in practice. The book shows how all religious and ethnic communities might deepen the impact of their educational programs.

Seit Grundung der Bundesrepublik ist die religiose Zusammensetzung der Gesellschaft heterogener und konfliktreicher geworden: Zugenommen hat die Gruppe der Religionslosen, von denen einige aktiv fur einen weltanschaulichen Sakularismus eintreten, und die der Muslime unterschiedlichen Bekenntnisses.
Dem Islam selbst und seiner komplexen Beziehung zum Verfassungsstaat sind zwei Beitrage gewidmet, ein weiterer sakularistischen (bzw. laizistischen) Positionen. Mehrere Kapitel gehen der Frage nach, wie das staatliche Religionsrecht auf die Herausforderungen Islam und Sakularismus reagieren sollte und ob es einer Neujustierung bedarf. Abschliessend werden zwei kontrare Urteile des Europaischen Gerichtshofs fur Menschenrechte (EGMR) zu einem italienischen Schulkreuz-Fall analysiert."

Charlotte Mason was a late nineteenth-century British educator whose ideas were far ahead of her time. She believed that children are born persons worthy of respect, rather than blank slates, and that it was better to feed their growing minds with living literature and vital ideas and knowledge, rather than dry facts and knowledge filtered and pre-digested by the teacher. Her method of education, still used by some private schools and many homeschooling families, is gentle and flexible, especially with younger children, and includes first-hand exposure to great and noble ideas through books in each school subject, conveying wonder and arousing curiosity, and through reflection upon great art, music, and poetry; nature observation as the primary means of early science teaching; use of manipulatives and real-life application to understand mathematical concepts and learning to reason, rather than rote memorization and working endless sums; and an emphasis on character and on cultivating and maintaining good personal habits. Schooling is teacher-directed, not child-led, but school time should be short enough to allow students free time to play and to pursue their own worthy interests such as handicrafts. Traditional Charlotte Mason schooling is firmly based on Christianity, although the method is also used successfully by secular families and families of other religions. Here in one affordable volume is her complete Homeschooling Series: Home Education: Six lectures by Charlotte Mason about the raising and educating of young children (up to the age of nine), for parents and teachers. She details how lessons in various school subjects can be done using her approach. She concludes with remarks about the Will, the Conscience, and the Divine Life in the Child. Parents and Children: A collection of 26 articles from the original Parent's Review magazines to encourage and instruct parents. School Education: Thoughts about the teaching and curriculum of children aged 9-12, either at school or at home. Ourselves: A character curriculum book written directly to children. Book I, Self-Knowledge, is for elementary school students; Book II, Self-Direction, is for older students. Formation of Character: Includes case studies of children (and adults) who cured themselves of bad habits; reflections on subjects including both schooling and vacations (or "stay-cations" as we now call them); various aspects of home schooling, with a special section detailing the things that Charlotte Mason thought were important to teach to girls in particular; and examples of how education affected outcome of character in famous writers of her day. Towards a Philosophy of Education: Charlotte Mason's final book, written after years of seeing her approach in action. This volume gives the best overview of her philosophy, and includes the final version of her 20 Principles. This book is particularly directed to parents of older children, about ages 12 and up, but is a valuable overview for parents of younger children as well, covering both theory and practice.

Preaching has been central to Muslim communities throughout the centuries. The liturgical Friday sermon is a prime example, although other genres that are less commonly known also serve important functions. This book addresses the ways in which Muslims relate various forms of religious oratory to authoritative tradition in 21st-century Islamic practice, while striving to adapt to local contexts and the changing circumstances of politics, media and society. This is the first book of its kind to look at homiletics beyond a specific country focus. Taking into consideration the historical developments of Muslim preaching, it offers a collection of thoroughly contextualised case studies of oratory in Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, Sweden and the USA. The analyses presented here show shared emphasis on struggles for legitimacy, efforts to speak authoritatively, as well as discursive opportunities and constraints.

The distinction between "insiders" and "outsiders" in religious studies has become an area of fruitful discussion in recent years. This anthology aims to extend that discussion by gathering newly commissioned essays from a diverse range of scholars, spanning a variety of disciplines and approaches, including ethnography, anthropology, theology and education. The result is a book that is at once accessible and readable, while remaining scholarly. The Insider/Outsider Debate has implications for numerous methodological issues in the study of religion, such as the emic/etic distinction, the distinction between religion and spirituality, the notions of "believing without belonging", the claim to be "spiritual but not religious" and the existence of multiple, complicated, contesting religious identities. A particular focus of the volume is providing critiques of these methodological issues within the most recent academic approaches to religion - particularly models of lived and vernacular religion.

New England pastor Jonathan Edwards encourages Christians struggling through the imperfections of life here on earth to experience the perfect love of God in communion with the Holy Spirit.